Switch! Read Free Page A

Oh she did not even want to think about last time.  
    A loud snarl reverberated around the clearing and Gogo Maya watched as her leopard, Salih, backed jerkily into the clearing. Invisible Tokoloshe were apparently dragging him by the tail. This was going to get interesting. Salih could kill a Tokoloshe with a swipe of his paw, and if he did not think that would do, he had a plethora of mind tricks he could apply if he wanted to.  
    “What are they?” Salih said between gritted teeth while unseen little fingers tied him up against Gogo Maya. “I channelled a mildly repellant flow through them, but it had no effect. I couldn’t quite get a fix on what they were. I didn’t want to harm anyone unnecessarily if it turned out to be a game, because I think they are related to the Tokoloshe.”  
    “They are Tokoloshe.” Gagged by the mango in her mouth, Gogo Maya projected the words directly into Salih’s mind. “Someone has given them something to enhance their powers, but as invincible as it’s made them, they are as stupid as ever.”  
    Salih snorted. “It was a bit stupid to tie us up together.”  
    Ooh, thought Gogo Maya. If Salih was glad they were tied together, perhaps this was going to be one of those rare occasions when he was going to use his own magic. Better yet, if he was going to channel his magic through her, he would leave residues of his own powerful magic in her, vastly magnifying her own resources.
    Salih gave her a stern look.
    “No, then?” she said.
    “You know I only do that as a last resort,” he said. “Do you have the opal?”
    “But what about the last time we used the opal?” she tried, but Gogo Maya was not that surprised; Salih was notoriously stingy with his magic.  
    “Are you sure we want to take the risk?” It was not just that she had hoped to use Salih’s magic, but the opal was a bit hit and miss. If they did a switch using it, there was no telling where they might end up. Worse, they had no idea what or who might replace them.  
    “If we switch with another witch from the village,” she said, “there is that small matter of who we ‘borrowed’ the magic from in the first place to make the amulet. There will be some awkward explaining to do. Besides, that would put someone else in danger with these Tokoloshe.”  
    “I don’t want to hurt them.” The leopard sounded apologetic.  
    “The trouble with you, Salih, is that you are too much of a softy,” Gogo Maya projected at him. “True, there are certain to be casualties among the Tokoloshe if you use your magic, especially in their present condition, but it would serve them right. They had been planning to kill me.”
    “It’s not really their fault,” Salih said. “You know how gullible they are. Also, we need them to have their wits about them so that we can sneak back afterwards and find out who’s been manipulating them.”
    “Well, if you insist.” Gogo Maya shrugged.“Hold on tight then.” Keeping a firm grip on the opal of the amulet, she shut her eyes, and mentally and physically jumped into the abyss.

3
A Picky Boy

    The heat did not let up in Harare, Zimbabwe, even with both bedroom windows open. Ethan Flynn pushed his hair out of his eyes and snapped his laptop shut with a sigh – the battery had run out. It was just about impossible to get anything done on it in this backwoods place because electricity supply was so erratic. The power was down now, and he’d heard it might be days before it was restored. He flung himself down the passage in the direction of the verandah where his dad and stepmother were having their evening cocktails. He supposed he would have to speak to them eventually; it might as well be now.
    Sophie shot him a belligerent look from her deck chair as he came out onto the verandah. He guessed she couldn’t help herself. She was dressed in a pair of short shorts, and a halter-top without a bra. The bitter lines of her face were smoothed by pulling her wispy